The Andrews government have this morning announced the first big solar farms in the state as well as auctions to bring 650 megawatts of new projects online to kick off the legislative push on the Victorian Renewable Energy Target.

Friends of the Earth welcome the announcement and say it’s a vital stepping stone for the Andrews government towards its commitment to deliver 5,400 megawatts of solar and wind by 2025--taking Victoria to 40 percent renewables.

A person's gender and sexuality should not affect their access to marriage in Australia, nor should it impact their human rights in any other way.

Friends of the Earth stands in solidarity with the LGBTQI+ community in the face of this attack on your rights. We also recognise that there are many other significant struggles that LGBTQI+ identifying people face daily because of your gender or sexual identity.

This spring we will be kick-starting our new Sustainable Cities campaign and getting active with a sponsored walk across our city. Walk This Way will be an opportunity to highlight the key areas of community action in the face of climate change and build our vision of a sustainable city.

Beginning on the banks of the Yarra in Melbourne’s CBD and journeying through the urban spaces, parklands and communities we call call home, we will finish up at the heart of Melbourne’s activist community here at Friends of the Earth for a Sustainable Cities campaign launch party!

Logging in the controversial "Kings" coupe at Hermitage Creek in the Toolangi state forest has been stalled for now. The forest is home to a colony of threatened Greater Gliders.

Friends of the Earth forest campaigners have been lobbying Environment Minister Lily D'Ambrosio's office to stop the logging operation. The Minister's department of environment has put a temporary halt to to the logging while they undertake an assessment of the biodiversity values within the coupe and make sure protections are in place for the Greater Gliders.

It's a good start but logging could still go ahead so we need to keep the pressure up.

Friends of the Earth have welcomed an Andrews government announcement of a $4.7 million grant scheme to kick-start community projects that tackle climate change saying it will bring jobs and investment to regional Victoria.

Minister for Energy, Environment, and Climate Change Lily D'Ambrosio announced the grant scheme at a sold out community event in Maryborough organised by Friends of the Earth with the support of the Goldfields Sustainability Group, Transition Creswick, and Maryborough Community House.

"Community members in regional Victoria are on the frontline of climate change impacts and will tell you that climate change is changing the seasons," said Leigh Ewbank, Friends of the Earth's Act on Climate coordinator.

"For some communities this means increased water scarcity and drought, and others it means heightened risk of heatwave and bushfire."

"What unites all regional communities is the urgent need for governments to invest in climate change action. The Andrews government's $4.7 million grant scheme will kickstart community-led solutions."

The Quit Coal collective has successfully campaigned with local community groups to secure a total ban on unconventional gas mining, like fracking, in Victoria. We have also helped fight off new coal mines in Bacchus Marsh and Mirboo North and worked as part of a coalition to stop a new coal-fired power station being built in the Latrobe Valley.

But the climate is still changing, communities are still being exploited and deceived by the fossil fuel industry and we’re ready for a new challenge. That’s where you come in! We’ve got plans around taking on energy companies, supporting the fight against fracking and coal around Australia, and we’re seeking a coordinator to help get us on track for more success.

In conjunction with the Quit Coal collective volunteers and the Friends of the Earth team, the Quit Coal Coordinator will work to:

convene and help facilitate an effective collective process;

re-engage our supporter base and drive engagement; and

maintain and grow our financial supporters and foster new relationships.

The Toolangi community and forest conservationists are celebrating the exit of logging machines from forest next to Tanglefoot picnic ground, and the removal of a logging coupe within the Valley of Giants from VicForests immediate logging schedule.

This is a massive win to protect the main tourist destinations and vital habitat for Leadbeater’s possum within the fragmented forest of Toolangi.

However, VicForests has moved logging machinery into another precious area of Victoria’s Central Highlands. Logging is threatening Hermitage Creek in the Toolangi state forest, right next to the iconic Black Spur Tourist Drive in threatened Greater Glider habitat.

Friends of the Earth acknowledge that we meet and work on the land of the Wurundjeri people and that sovereignty of the land of the Kulin Nation were never ceded. We pay respect to their Elders, past and present, and acknowledge the pivotal role that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people continue to play within the Australian community.